Paleontologists in the US have uncovered the fossilized remains of a new species of sauropodomorph dinosaur, Ahvaytum bahndooiveche, which lived around 230 million years ago during the Carnian age. The discovery challenges the long-held idea that dinosaurs originated in the southern hemisphere.
The fossil found in Wyoming’s Popo Agie Formation is significant because it represents the oldest known equatorial dinosaur and North America’s oldest dinosaur. Ahvaytum bahndooiveche was around 1 meter long, roughly the size of a chicken but with an exceptionally long tail.
The discovery provides new insights into the evolution of sauropodomorph dinosaurs during the Carnian pluvial episode, when the climate changed from hot and dry to wetter. This period likely transformed large desert areas into habitats suitable for early dinosaurs.
Led by Dr. Dave Lovelace from the University of Wisconsin Geology Museum, a team of researchers discovered the fossil remains in 2013 at Garrett’s Surprise locality. Their findings appear in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society and highlight the widespread geographic distribution of sauropodomorph dinosaurs during this time period.
The presence of Ahvaytum bahndooiveche, along with a silesaurid dinosaur-like creature, pushes back our understanding of dinosaur dispersal out of Gondwana.
Source: https://www.sci.news/paleontology/ahvaytum-bahndooiveche-13564.html